Who is Gwyneth Kate Paltrow? The entertainment and acting world knows Gwyneth Paltrow as is an American actress and singer.
[3][4] She made her acting debut on stage in 1990 and started appearing in films in 1991. After appearing in several films throughout the decade, Paltrow gained early notice for her work in films such as
Se7en (1995) and
Emma (1996) (in which she played the title role). Following the films,
Sliding Doors (1998) and
A Perfect Murder (1998), Paltrow garnered worldwide recognition through her performance in
Shakespeare in Love (1998), for which she won an
Academy Award for Best Actress, a
Golden Globe Award and two
Screen Actors Guild Awards, for
Outstanding Lead Actress and as a member of the
Outstanding Cast.
Since then, Paltrow has portrayed supporting as well as lead roles in films such as
The Talented Mr. Ripley (1999),
Shallow Hal (2001), and
Proof (2005), for which she earned a
Golden Globe nomination as
Best Actress in Motion Picture Drama. In 2008, she appeared in the highest grossing movie of her career, the superhero film
Iron Man (2008), and then reprised her role as
Pepper Potts in its sequel,
Iron Man 2 (2010). Paltrow also appeared in the television series,
Glee, and has been the face of
Estée Lauder's Pleasures perfume since 2005. She is married to
Chris Martin, the lead vocalist of
Coldplay. They have two children together, Apple and Moses.
Early life
Paltrow was born September 27, 1972 in
Los Angeles, California, the daughter of
Blythe Danner, an actress, and
Bruce Paltrow, a film and
television director and producer. Paltrow's father was of
Ashkenazi Russian Jewish descent; her mother is a
Quaker of
Pennsylvania Dutch and more distant
white Barbadian ancestry.
[5][6][7][8][9][10] Paltrow's paternal great-great-grandfather, whose surname was "Paltrowicz", was a
rabbi in
Nowogród, Poland.
[11] Paltrow has a younger brother,
Jake Paltrow, and is a half-cousin of actress
Katherine Moennig, and a second cousin of Congresswoman
Gabrielle Giffords (
AZ-08).
[12]
Paltrow was raised in
Santa Monica, where she attended
Crossroads School, before moving and enrolling in
The Spence School, a
private girls' school in New York City.
[13] Later, she briefly studied
art history at the
University of California, Santa Barbara, before dropping out to act.
[14] She is an "adopted daughter" of
Talavera de la Reina (Spain), where at 15 she spent a year as an
exchange student and learned to speak Spanish.
Career
Early work, 1990–1996
After spending several summers watching her mother perform at the
Williamstown Theatre Festival in
Massachusetts, Paltrow made her professional stage debut there in 1990.
[14] Her film debut followed next year with
Shout (1991), starring
John Travolta, she was cast by
Steven Spielberg in his film,
Hook (1991), as the young
Wendy Darling.
[14] Paltrow then had minor roles in
Malice (1993) and
Flesh and Bone (1993). She was next cast in a supporting role in
Se7en (1995) alongside
Brad Pitt and
Morgan Freeman, which earned her a
Satellite Award nomination.
In 1996, she played the title character in
Emma to critical acclaim.
Worldwide recognition, 1998–2003
Paltrow appeared in several films throughout 1998, including
Sliding Doors and the leading role in the film adaptation of the
Charles Dickens novel,
Great Expectations with
Ethan Hawke,
Robert De Niro,
Anne Bancroft and
Chris Cooper. Also in 1998 Paltrow appeared in two thrillers,
Hush opposite
Jessica Lange and
A Perfect Murder inspired by
Alfred Hitchcock's 1954 film,
Dial M for Murder. Paltrow appeared opposite
Michael Douglas as Emily Taylor, based on
Grace Kelly's character from the original film, though the film was met with mixed reviews.
[17]
In 1998, Paltrow starred in
Shakespeare in Love, portraying the fictional lover of
William Shakespeare, played by
Joseph Fiennes. The film earned more than US$100 million in
box office receipts in the United States and Paltrow gained critical acclaim for her portrayal.
Entertainment Weekly commented, "Best of all is Gwyneth Paltrow, who, at long last, has a movie to star in that's as radiant as she is."
[18] The
New York Times summed up her turn as Viola as such: "Gwyneth Paltrow, in her first great, fully realized starring performance, makes a heroine so breathtaking that she seems utterly plausible as the playwright's guiding light."
[19] The award-winning
Shakespeare in Love[20][21] earned Paltrow the award for Outstanding Performance by a Female Actor in a Leading Role from the
Screen Actors Guild,
[22] the
Golden Globe Award for Best Actress[22] and the
Academy Award for Best Actress, among other honors.
[21] Her
Pink Ralph Lauren dress worn at the
71st Academy Awards in collecting her Oscar was extremely popular and was credited for bringing pink back into fashion.
[23]
In 1999, Paltrow co-starred in
The Talented Mr. Ripley alongside
Jude Law,
Matt Damon and
Cate Blanchett which earned $80 million domestically and received positive reviews.
[24] She showcased her singing ability in 2000's
Duets, which was directed by her father and co-starred singer
Huey Lewis. The same year, Paltrow co-starred with
Ben Affleck in the romantic drama
Bounce as Abby Janello. She was part of an ensemble cast, as Margot Tenenbaum, in
The Royal Tenenbaums (2001). Also in 2001, she starred with
Jack Black in the comedy
Shallow Hal, where she had to wear a specially designed 25 pound fatsuit and heavy make-up. The film was released to mixed reviews.
Recent work, 2004–present
Since the Oscar for
Shakespeare in Love, Paltrow's film success has been less noteworthy.
[25] She said she was unequipped for the pressure, leading to several bad movie choices,
[26] agreeing with peers who believe the win is, in some ways, a curse.
[27] During this time, Paltrow took a career hiatus to raise her family rarely appearing in films.
[13] In
The Guardian, she said she divided her career into movies for love and films for money:
The Royal Tenenbaums,
Proof, and
Sylvia fell into the former category, while she did
View from the Top and
Shallow Hal for the latter.
[7] In 2004, she appeared in the science-fiction film,
Sky Captain and the World of Tomorrow opposite Jude Law. The same year, she was recognized as an outstanding woman in entertainment by
Women in Film Los Angeles with the
Crystal Award.
[28] In 2005, she appeared in the film
Proof as the depressed daughter of a brilliant, eccentric mathematician. The movie is based on the
play of the same name, in which Paltrow also played the same character at London's
Donmar Warehouse in 2002. For her performance Paltrow earned her second Golden Globe nomination
Best Actress – Motion Picture Drama. In 2006, she had small roles in
Running With Scissors and
Infamous, in which she sang
Cole Porter's "
What Is This Thing Called Love?"
In 2008, she appeared in the superhero film
Iron Man as
Pepper Potts,
Tony Stark's closest friend, budding love interest, and business partner.
[29] Iron Man man is Paltrow's highest-grossing film to date, earning more than $585,000,000 worldwide.
[30] Paltrow said she was hesitant to appear in a big-budget project but she was won over by
Robert Downey Jr., the film's lead, and director
Jon Favreau. She recalled a conversation with Downey, saying:
[31]
In 2010, Paltrow reprised her role in the sequel to
Iron Man,
Iron Man 2. Later in 2010, she appeared in the musical,
Country Strong, where she also recorded the song
Country Strong for the films' soundtrack.
[32] The song was released to country radio in August 2010.
[33] At the
83rd Academy Awards, Paltrow performed the song "
Coming Home" from the film which was nominated for Best Original Song.
[34] She also appeared in Fox's
Glee, as substitute teacher,
Holly Holliday who fills in for
Matthew Morrison's character when he falls ill. She sang "
Nowadays" from the musical
Chicago with
Lea Michele,
Cee Lo Green's "
Forget You" and
Gary Glitter's "
Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)", plus a mash-up of "
Singin' In the Rain" and
Rihanna's "
Umbrella" with Morrison,
Mark Salling and
Chris Colfer in the episode.
[35] She later performed "Forget You" with
Cee-Lo Green himself and
The Muppets at the
2011 Grammy Awards. She reprised her role later that season performing
"Do You Wanna Touch Me (Oh Yeah)" by
Gary Glitter, an
acoustic version of "Landslide" by
Fleetwood Mac and "
Kiss" by
Prince. Paltrow's upcoming film is the
Steven Soderbergh thriller,
Contagion, in which she is part of an ensemble cast including
Kate Winslet,
Marion Cotillard and her
The Talented Mr. Ripley co-stars, Matt Damon and Jude Law.
[36]
Other projects
Paltrow is a
Save the Children artist ambassador, raising awareness about
World Pneumonia Day.
[37] She is on the board of the
Robin Hood Foundation, a charitable organization that works to alleviate poverty in New York City.
In February 2009, Paltrow received a Grammy nomination for her reading of the classic bear books of author
Bill Martin, Jr.[38]
Paltrow had her singing debut in the 2000 film
Duets, in which she performed a
cover version of
Smokey Robinson's "
Cruisin'". The song was released as a single. The song went to number one in Australia, while Paltrow's rendition of the
Kim Carnes classic "
Bette Davis Eyes" reached number three.
[citation needed] In the 2006 film
Infamous, she sang "What Is This Thing Called Love". On September 27, 2006, Paltrow sang with
rapper Jay-Z during his concert at
Royal Albert Hall. She sang the chorus for "
Song Cry", from the rapper's album
Blueprint.
[39] In an interview, she said she would be at the concert but not that she would perform. She was quoted as saying "I'm a Jay-Z fan. He's my best friend."
[40]
In May 2005, Paltrow became the face of
Estée Lauder's Pleasures perfume. She appeared in Chicago on 17 August 2007, to sign bottles of the perfume, and on 8 July 2008, she promoted Lauder's Sensuous perfume in New York with the company's three other models.
[41] Estée Lauder donates a minimum of $500,000 of sales of items from the 'Pleasures Gwyneth Paltrow' collection to
breast cancer research.
[42] In 2006, she became the face for
Bean Pole International, a Korean fashion brand.
In October 2007, she signed for a
PBS television series
Spain... on the road Again with
Mario Batali that showcases the food and culture of Spain.
[43] In September 2008, she launched a weekly lifestyle newsletter, Goop, encouraging readers to 'nourish the inner aspect'. The website's title is derived from the initials of her first and last names.
[44] Each week, the newsletter focuses on an action: Make, Go, Get, Do, Be, and See. It has been ridiculed by
E-Online,
[45] Vanity Fair,
[46] The Independent,
[47] and the
UK's
Daily Mirror.
[48]
Personal life
In her early 20s, Paltrow was engaged for six months to, whom she dated from December 1994 to May 1997.
[49] The engagement was called off, according to Paltrow, because she wasn't ready for marriage and later felt responsible for hurting Pitt since she was "such a mess" during that time in her life.
[50] Paltrow has since said that as this was her first high-profile relationship with another celebrity, it taught her the need for public discretion about her romantic life; she told
Biography magazine, "I said things about being in a relationship [with Brad Pitt] that felt wrong to me even as I was saying them."
[51]
Paltrow had an on-off three year relationship with
Ben Affleck from 1997 to late 2000. They first dated from November 1997 to January 1999.
[52] Soon after their breakup, Paltrow convinced Affleck to work in the film
Bounce with her;
[53] during the making of the film, which was shot in mid 1999, the couple started dating again and eventually broke up in October 2000.
[52] Paltrow has said that she stopped reading celebrity magazines in 1999.
[54]
In October 2002, Paltrow met
Chris Martin of the British rock group
Coldplay backstage three weeks after the death of her father
Bruce Paltrow. They married on December 5, 2003 in a ceremony at a hotel in
Southern California.
[55] On 14 May 2004, the couple had their first child, a girl named Apple Blythe Alison Martin. Paltrow explained the unusual first name on
Oprah, saying: "It sounded so sweet and it conjured such a lovely picture for me – you know, apples are so sweet and they're wholesome and it's biblical – and I just thought it sounded so lovely and … clean! And I just thought, 'Perfect!'"
[56] The child's godfathers are
Simon Pegg and Martin's bandmate,
Jonny Buckland.
[57]
Her second child, a boy named Moses Bruce Anthony Martin, was born on 8 April 2006, in New York City's
Mount Sinai Hospital.
[58] Her son's first name was explained as the song, entitled "Moses", that her husband wrote for her before their wedding.
[58] Paltrow has stated that she cut down on work after becoming a mother.
[59] She has also said that she suffered from postpartum depression after the death of her father and after the birth of her second child.
[60]
Controversial statements
In December 2006, Paltrow was reported on the Internet to have told
Notícias Sábado, the weekend magazine supplement of Portuguese newspaper
Diário de Notícias, that she thought British people were more civilized and intelligent than Americans.
[61] Paltrow denied making the statements attributed to her and told
People magazine that she never gave an interview to a Portuguese publication, but instead had tried to say in Spanish, during a press conference, that Europe was an "older culture" and Americans "live to work".
[62] Diário de Notícias said in their 6 December 2006 edition that it had obtained the quotes from English-language articles that are still referenced online,
[7][63] though Paltrow has insisted that she was misquoted, declaring in 2007: "I love America, and I'm an American through and through."
[31]
Filmography
Discography
Singles
Featured singles
Album appearances
Music videos
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